Sales-Week Ending 5/6/12
STREAMING CHART
It launches next week in the U.K. Once again, our English brethren are ahead of the U.S., the self-described GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!
Ed Sheeran is the most streamed act in the U.K.
He means nothing in the U.S.
When will we ever learn, when will we ever learn. International boundaries mean nothing in music. You need to launch in every territory simultaneously. The labels are living in the sixties.
Lana Del Rey is number two and David Guetta is number three. There goes that mantra that no one wants to listen to electronic music at home.
Rihanna is number four and Coldplay is number five. But most interestingly, Adele doesn’t even make the Top Ten.
Because "21" is not on Spotify.
There goes that paradigm.
First and foremost, an artist wants to be number one. Just ask Madonna! Her album is a stiff and ticket sales are nowhere near as good as the disinformation campaign at Live Nation tells us they are, but she gets to say she had a number one album!
If streaming dominates, are these acts gonna stay off the service?
Actually, streaming ALREADY dominates. According to Nielsen, in the U.S. 26% of people streamed as opposed to the 17% who listened to purchased files last year.
Meanwhile, YouTube dominates. It makes up 55% of online streaming.
So staying off Spotify accomplishes..?
Most people are listening for free on YouTube.
And you’re not gonna chart.
The acts are gonna run to be on Spotify.
Meanwhile, YouTube is not included in the streaming chart yet. That’s the music business, always an ostrich.
TOP 200 ALBUMS
1. Carrie Underwood "Blown Away"
Sales this week: 267,338
Debut
And it ain’t gonna go up.
This is how far we’ve come, despite saturation advertising, most people just don’t care, they don’t need to own Carrie Underwood’s new album.
We can chalk it up to alternatives… Would you rather play video games? If you want to see belters, is "The Voice" more entertaining?
Sure, she’s number one…but number one ain’t what it used to be.
As for that old saw that country fans don’t have computers, 107,151 of these albums were sold digitally. Yes, the sun is setting on the CD…GOOD RIDDANCE!
Not that I’m a fan of lo-fi MP3s. But with streaming services, as broadband improves, sound quality can be upgraded. But rights holders like broadband slow, so no one will steal. Huh? With better sound, acoustic music sounds better. Quiet sounds better. What HD did to TV hi-res audio can do for music. But that requires you to pay more taxes and get the government to invest.
Or maybe you’d just rather listen to your old Fleetwood Mac CDs…
3. "Now 42"
Sales this week: 94,689
Debut
And every track’s a hit?
Who needs the album when you can buy the hits individually?
The lead-off cut on this compilation is Kelly Clarkson’s "Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)". It’s sold 3,067,798 digital singles so far. Everybody who wants it, bought it. As for those of you lamenting the days of the album…Napster killed that, not iTunes, iTunes just monetized it.
33. Rufus Wainwright "Out Of The Game"
Sales this week: 11,594
Debut
Didn’t Rufus say this was his pop album, the one with singles that was gonna break him through?
Hogwash.
Rufus, admit who you are. A gay man with a dedicated audience. Junk your label, go completely independent, use Kickstarter, milk your hard core audience for every dime its got…THEY LOVE YOU!
Your only hope of growing is if your core audience spreads the word. Play to them, not to everybody
49. Bruce Springsteen "Wrecking Ball"
Sales this week: 10,961
Weeks on: 9
Percentage change: -28.1
Cume: 386,976
"Just back from Jazzfest. Boss reminded me of ‘Up With People.’"An e-mail from my favorite retired rock critic, ____ ______.
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
We’ve become our parents. Springsteen mugs, he’s upbeat and the audience revels in has-beenism, what once was.
Don’t shoot me, I’m only the messenger.
DIGITAL ALBUMS
The Beastie Boys are at number 6, 16 and 23, with "Licensed To Ill", "Paul’s Boutique" and "Solid Gold Hits", with 15,349, 7,189 and 6,196 sales respectively. None were on the chart the previous week.
Remember when Elvis died and there was almost no inventory and RCA pressing plants had to work overtime?
Then you’re really old.
There’s endless inventory in the digital world.
As for why albums cost the same, with no manufacturing and shipping costs involved, you’ll have to ask the labels.
Then again, the sun is setting on digital track pricing anyway…it’s being eclipsed by streaming.
DIGITAL SONGS
13. Eric Church "Springsteen"
Sales this week: 78,956
Weeks on: 11
Percentage change: -1
Cume: 739,170
The Boss himself is not on this chart.
Then again, why should he be? Church’s track is better than anything on Bruce’s album, which is a circle jerk for fans only.
If only Bruce actually cut something this good.
Unlike "Wrecking Ball", Eric’s vocal is mixed right up front, especially important in this lo-fi era. And Eric’s written a better chorus than the Boss’s single "We Take Care Of Our Own". There’s the nostalgia of "Bobby Jean" without being maudlin, and melodic changes closer to the Beatles than any of Bruce’s recent work.
Then again, Eric Church is a renegade.
And Bruce Springsteen is a prisoner of his audience.
116. Avicii "Levels"
Sales this week: 19,133
Weeks on: 26
Percentage change: -15.5
Cume: 770,525
Keep saying electronic music is a fad and no one listens to it and no one buys it. Is it working for you?
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We’re in the death throes of the SoundScan era. It’s no longer a good metric. Hell, even back in the day, just because someone bought an album, did that mean they LISTENED to it?
That’s the new metric… Did you listen to my music?
That’s your goal.
Putting out an album might make you feel good, but if only your hard core buys it and no one else ever hears it then I hope you’re satisfied.
But most acts are not.
Now, more than ever, excellence is king. It’s no longer about pleasing gatekeepers, but finding your own holes and driving your music through. Used to be if you could get on radio and MTV, you were made. Now radio is fading and MTV has got nothing to do with music.
You lead with your track.
People can only listen to one track at one time. If they love that, they want more. But putting ten tracks in their face all at once just overwhelms them. And sixty plus minute albums even overwhelm fans.
I’d say everything’s changing, but truly, everything’s changed.
Instead of starting out young, you’re better off getting seasoning.
Your goal is to release a track so good that fans will adopt it and spread the word for you.
They’re all you can count on, the people.
In music, we live in a great democracy. Ain’t it grand!
And for those who talk about TV shows and radio…how’s that typewriter working for you?
